History Crash Course #8: Reunion

To remedy the family animosity, Joseph sets the stage for a great test.

An interesting thing happens in the Bible right in the middle of the Joseph story. Suddenly the story stops. We leave off Joseph and return to the land of Canaan to pick up the story of Judah, the fourth oldest of the 12 brothers and a natural leader in the family. And it is not immediately clear why we need to be informed of this slice out of Judah's life at this point in the narrative. (See Book of Genesis, Chapter 38.)

We learn that Judah takes a wife who bears three sons and the oldest married a woman named Tamar. He died. In Jewish Law there is concept called yibum. If a man dies childless, it is a commandment that his brother should marry the widow so that she can have children and perpetuate his name. 1 Accordingly, the second son married Tamar. He also died. Tamar is in line to marry the third son, but Judah stalls fearing the same fate for his youngest son. Realizing Judah will not honor the law, and seeing herself growing older and childless, Tamar decides to take the matters into her own hands.

As the Bible tells it, she disguises herself as a prostitute and waits for Judah to pass by. He promises her a goat in payment for her services. She holds onto his staff and seal as collateral, but when he arrives with the goat, the "prostitute" is nowhere to be found.

Shortly thereafter, it is discovered that Tamar is pregnant and she is sentenced to death for her promiscuity. Despite her situation, she does not embarrass Judah by revealing that he is the father of her unborn child. Instead, she sends the staff and seal with the request, "Please, recognize to whom this belongs."

These are the very words that Judah had spoken to his father Jacob, when -- after having sold Joseph into slavery -- he and his brothers took Joseph's coat and smeared it with the blood of a goat. They had claimed at the time that Joseph must have been devoured by wild animals. Through this parallel language Judah is given a hint from above that his leading role in the sale of his brother was a terrible mistake.

Judah confesses, "She is more righteous than I."

Through his admission of guilt, Judah becomes the first person in the Bible to accept responsibility willingly, thereby becoming the archetypal example of sincere and wholehearted repentance. In this he is the model Jewish leader, and the mantle of kingship will forever after belong to the tribe of Judah. His descendants (who come from his relationship with Tamar) will be King David and King Solomon, as well as the prophesied Messiah at the end of days.2

As unusual as the Judah and Tamar story is, the fact that it is even mentioned illustrates another unique aspect of the Bible. In general there is very little history recorded from this period of time and what little we have found is very far from what we today would call objective history. A good example would the record of the Kings of Mesopotamia. According to these records the genealogy of these kings goes back to the gods, and the kings themselves are usually portrayed as flawless ideal rulers. The Bible, on the other hand is unique for its objective and even hypercritical treatment of both the Jewish people and their leaders. Since the purpose of the Bible to educate, nothing is overlooked or whitewashed. There are no skeletons in the closet. They are all dragged out into the open for everyone to see. The Anglo-Jewish writer Israel Zangwill said it best: "The Bible is an anti-Semitic book. ‘Israel is the villain not the hero, of his own story.' Alone among epics, it is out for truth, not high heroics." 3

The stage is now set for the repentance of the brothers and their reunion with Joseph.

THE FAMINE

Meanwhile, the famine hits. And it doesn't just affect Egypt but the entire ancient Middle East, and Egypt -- thanks to Joseph's foresight -- is the only place that has storehouses of grain.

Jacob sends the brothers in search of provisions. He keeps just one of his sons with him. Unaware that Joseph is still alive, Jacob fears for the safety of Benjamin, Joseph's full brother and the only surviving child of his favorite wife Rachel.

The brothers arrive to Egypt. They bow before the Viceroy, not realizing that this is their long-lost brother whom they had sold into slavery. After all, when they sold him into slavery he was a boy of 17 and now he is almost 40 and dressed as the viceroy of Egypt.

At this point in the narrative Joseph could easily have revealed himself but he doesn't. Instead he keeps his identity a secret and runs his brothers through one of the most interesting and emotional dramas in the entire Bible.

Joseph recognized that his brothers' hatred had posed a mortal danger to him in the past and if left untreated an eternal danger to the Jewish people in the future. Unless they recognized their mistake, felt true remorse and changed, this hatred would resurface throughout history. He knew that he must force his brother s to do tshuva -- repentance.

The great Medieval Jewish scholar Maimonides tells us that the Jewish way of repentance is that first you recognize that you've done wrong. Next you commit never to repeat the same mistake and finally, if you find yourself in the same situation, but you don't repeat that mistake. You show that you've really changed.

This is exactly what his brothers must do and Joseph realizes that he now has a great chance to put his brothers back in the same situation in order to get them to both take responsibility for their past mistakes and root out the damage caused by their fraternal jealousy.

THE TEST

So first, he accuses them of being spies. They insist they are not spies, they are just brothers of a family, that they have a father and a brother back home.

If that is true, says Joseph, go back and bring the other brother.

They are now starting to figure out that this is all happening to them because of what they did to Joseph. And now they have to bring Benjamin -- they know that if something happens to him, it's going to kill their father.

But Joseph insists and makes them go back and bring back Benjamin. Then he plants a silver cup in Benjamin's bag, and accuses them all of stealing. However, he offers to let the brothers go free and only punish Benjamin by taking him into slavery.

This is the test -- will they turn their backs on their brother to save themselves?

But they have become different people and they will not make the same mistake again. Judah argues passionately and offers himself into slavery in place of Benjamin.4

With that Joseph starts to cry and reveals his true identity at last: "I am Joseph, is my father still alive?"

This is one of the great moments in the Bible as the brothers stare in shock at their long-lost brother, now an Egyptian Viceroy.

DIVINE PLAN

As the shock wears off, the first thought that Joseph's brothers probably have is "we're dead!" But Joseph has no thoughts of revenge and he makes what is clearly one of the most significant statements in terms of understanding Jewish history:

"Now do not worry, and do not be angry with yourselves that you sold me here, for it was to preserve life that God sent me before you. For it is two years that there has been famine in the land; and for another five years there will be no plowing or harvest. God sent me here before you to insure your survival in the land to keep you alive for a great deliverance. It was not you that sent me here, but God and he made me as a father to Pharaoh and master of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt."(Genesis 45:5-8)

One of the greatest sayings of the rabbis which explains Jewish history is the idea of "God puts the cure before the disease."5

At the beginning of these series, we discussed the idea of history as a controlled process leading to a destination. Our decisions make a difference but we're promised that we'll get our destined end. Therefore, regardless of what path we take, God will always make sure that His goals are met. He will put the pieces into place. Now as events are unfolding, we don't see where and how the pieces fit but when it's all over we can see everything had a reason.

Joseph, who was a very intelligent person with a tremendous faith in God, realized that everything he went through in the past twenty two years, his enslavement, his rise to viceroy, was part of a Divine plan. He had to go to Egypt, because this was all part of this huge cosmic historical process that only became clear at the end of the story.

JIGSAW PUZZLE

Jewish history (and all human history) is like a giant jigsaw puzzle with six thousand pieces. When the pieces are first poured out on the table they make no sense. In the end we see that they all fit together perfectly. Nothing is missing and nothing is extra. Every piece has a purpose and a place.

This is the Jewish take on history. Everything fits. There are no accidents. It all comes together. Every event has a purpose in God's infinite plan and when it's done we look back and see that it all makes sense, it all fits.

Joseph sees that. He sends word back to his father, and Jacob is overjoyed. He thought his son has been dead for all these years. And they have a dramatic reunion. All of Egypt comes out to see the Viceroy's family. And they are all bowing to Joseph in fulfillment of the prophecy.

Then the Pharaoh invites the whole family to come live in Egypt. And they do. The Bible says that 70 individuals entered Egypt consisting of Jacob, his 12 sons, their wives and children. The proto-Jewish nation arrived in Egypt.

They're welcomed in. They're given the best real estate in the land of Goshen. They settle there happily and prosper. Everything seems to be going great until the Egyptians see they are doing a little too well for comfort.

But when the Book of Genesis ends -- with the deaths of Jacob and Joseph -- everything is still okay. The problems are waiting to come in the Book of Exodus.

1. This law has many details that we won’t go into. The custom of Yibum is not practiced in the modern Jewish world.
2. See: Breishit Rabbah 85:5.
3. Gabriel Sivan, The Bible and Civilization (Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1973), p.10.
4. It’s interesting to note that the Midrashim (Biblical exegesis) indicate that although the brothers were willing to fight for Benjamin, they also suspected that on some level he was a thief. It seems that by the time we reach the climax of the story the brothers had not totally worked out their hatred and mistrust, but Joseph could not hold himself back any longer. Maybe if Joseph had pushed them just a little harder, this hatred would have been purged forever and Jewish history could have taken a very different, and less painful, path. See: Midrash Rabbah, M’keitz 92:8
5. Talmud-Megillah 13:b.

Article 8 of 68 in the series Jewish History

Rabbi Ken Spiro, originally from New Rochelle, NY, graduated from Vassar College with a BA in Russian Language and Literature and did graduate studies at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. He has rabbinic ordination from Aish Jerusalem and a Masters Degree in History from Vermont College of Norwich University. Rabbi Spiro is also a licensed tour guide by the Israel Ministry of Tourism. He has appeared on numerous radio and TV programs such as BBC, National Geographic Channel and The History Channel. He lives near Jerusalem with his wife and five children, where he works as a senior lecturer for Aish Jerusalem.

In one volume, Crash Course in Jewish History explores the 4,000 years of Jewish existence while answering the great questions: Why have the Jewish people been so unique, so impactful, yet so hated and so relentlessly persecuted?

Crash Course in Jewish History is not only comprehensive and readable, it is also entertaining and enlightening. Novices and scholars alike will find Crash Course in Jewish History to be thought-provoking and insightful, as well as a valuable and relevant guide to understanding the challenges we all face in the 21st century.

I just knew about aish by someone sharing it in fbook, and I'm fascinated. Can't stop reading it! Thank you for presenting the facts of Jewish history in such inspired way.
And please share it w friends and families. :-D

(9)
Leonardo Arenas,
August 22, 2012 8:13 AM

Repentance in God's Terms

Joseph's strategy to test the authenticity (repentance coming form thier hearts) of his brother's repentance is classical and unique to the sin that they committed. Joseph wants to assure that such same acts of sin will not be repeated once true repentance is in effect in one's individual act.

(8)
Anonymous,
April 14, 2009 10:51 AM

There are so many levels in this story

The richness of this story is amazing because of all the different levels of journeys occurring in each chapter.
As I was reading about the sale of Joesph into slavery and the repentance of his brothers, I see a convoluted mixture of substories that comment not only on God's soveriegn power and human nature, but also on the qualities of leadership within a family and as head if a nation. This is not just a story about Joseph's, godly character, capacity for forgiveness and rise from nothingness to power. This is a story of tests between Jacob and Judah, Joseph and Judah and God for the safekeeping of Israel. In my opinion, Judah, not Joseph is really the main character here.
Jacob is blinded and deafened by God so that Judah and Joseph can be moved by His Hand into His plan of safekeeping for Israel. Joseph, we know, is a godly man and will trust in the Lord and be blessed. Judah must be worked on by God through much trial and sorrow and it is within Judah's journey that we see the gifts of forgiveness, compassion and the grace of our Father revealed. We also observe God's guidance, provision and protection for His first born, Israel.
Orchestrating within the man Judah, God provides leadership for family and nation through Tamar's immorality.
Tamar, posing as a temple prostitute, seduces Judah and becomes pregnant by him. Judah is then forced to confront not only this sin but all his sins and repent of them. God is safekeeping the continuation of the line of kings through Judah for David, Solomon and eventually the Messiah.
Jacob does not take Reuben's offer of his two sons for the safety of Benjamin, but he accepts Judah's offer later on. He understands, as the leader of a family and nation, that there is more to leading than upholding the laws. Jacob accepts Judah's offer because his eyes and ears are opening to something new in him. He hears a man declaring what needs to be done instead of asking and he sees a man accepting responsibility for his own people by pledging himself in Benjamin's place. Further, Jacob knows that Judah understands the pain of the loss of sons and therefore, would take every precaution and be unwilling to give up Benjamin if it came to a struggle to survive. Jacob sees Judah as ready to lead the people of Israel and I believe that this is what Jacob was waiting for when he refuses to send Benjamin to Egypt. Jacob/Israel would rather have starved himself and Leah's sons to death instead of seeing his child perish at the hands of the unrighteous and unrepented. It is with his eyes and ears open in understanding, that Jacob/Israel is ready to place his beloved son into the hands of Judah. All is now ready for the fulfillment of God's plan for the safety of Israel, His first born. Jacob must be assured of Benjamin's earthly safety before God can assure Israel's spiritual safety through the line of Judah.
God, through Joseph, tests Judah's integrity, family allegience and spirituality to ensure reconciliation of the family. In doing this, God through Joseph also ensures the leadership, integrity and reconciliation of Israel as a nation.
There is more here than meets the eye if you are looking.

(7)
Menashe Kaltmann,
May 25, 2007 12:34 AM

The 10 Martyrs

Thank you yet again aish.com and R. Spiro for this wonderful series.I was taken by one piece in which you say:"This is the Jewish take on history. Everything fits. There are no accidents. It all comes together. Every event has a purpose in God's infinite plan and when it's done we look back and see that it all makes sense, it all fits."

On Yom Kippur we read about the deaths of 10 Talmudic Sages.Interestingly this happened centuries later after the episode with Yosef and his brothers. The famous Sages of The Mishnah the 10 matyrs were killed by the Roman Governor/king andf they attributed their deaths to the 'sin' of selling Yosef into slavery.

Please G-d let us hope for no more tragedies and let's hope very soon speedily in our days we see the good prophecies happen like the coming of Moshiach!

(6)
Anonymous,
February 18, 2007 6:21 AM

ech parsha you comment upon encourages more understanding and more love for Torah

Today I am reviewing part 8. And I am taking very personally the sections for the puzzle eventually revealing HaShem's plans. And during difficult times (which is pretty much always in our times and in our families and in Israel where I live) what you write and how you express it really comforts me. Thank you with all my heart

(5)
j.meller,
January 13, 2007 10:31 AM

concise and most informative

fascinating tour of highlights of jewish history. the repetition of similar events on key dates and the importance of the same message is striking of a divine hand

(4)
Fred Altschuler,
January 17, 2005 12:00 AM

I studied Jewish History when I was 12 and 13 years of age and have not studied it since.. I am currently 63 years old. These courses are like a re-awakening. I can't stop reading them. Best of all they are easy to comprehend with clear analogies(very earthly).

(3)
Fanai Madinga,
July 15, 2002 12:00 AM

Helpfull comment

The comment part of Joseph's story is really helpful and refreshing. It never occured to me that bits of events portrayed understanding picture in the end. My experiences sometimes troubled and tormented me by not understanding while the picture is in shaping stages. Thanks for lightening me up.

(2)
Alan Silberman,
May 15, 2001 12:00 AM

excellent and useful series

I came across your website by chance and am reading the chaprers of your crash Jewish history course. I am a conservative Jew who is very interested in Jewish matters. I confess that I do not attend shul often enough and lack a thorough religious understanding.
Your course is refreshing, interesting, and has stimulated a new interest for me. Keep up your wonderful work.